On August 23, 2018, in Quang Ninh, the 4th bilateral meeting between the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) was launched under the co-chairmanship of the Governor of the SBV and the Governor of the NBC.
In his opening speech, SBV Governor Le Minh Hung warmly welcomed the NBC Delegation headed by Governor Chea Chanto to visit and work in Vietnam. Governor Le Minh Hung also expressed his congratulations on the sweeping victory of the Cambodian People's Party in the recent general election. He believed that the Cambodian People's Party will continue to succeed in the cause of leading the Kingdom of Cambodia to prosperity.
The bilateral meeting was divided into two sessions: the bilateral talks between the two central banks and a dialogue with Vietnamese commercial banks which are now operating in Cambodia.
Bilateral talks between the two central banks
SBV Governor Le Minh Hung warmly welcomed the NBC Delegation headed by Governor Chea Chanto to visit and work in Vietnam. He also expressed his confidence that the bilateral meeting between the two central banks would be successful and would achieve the expected targets.
Governor Le Minh Hung delivers the opening speech at the meeting
At the bilateral talks, on the basis of the reports of two central banks on the macro-economic situations and the implementation of the monetary policies, the banking activities, the inspection and supervision, the banking restructuring, the two Governors exchanged and assessed the performances of the two central banks, and they particularly shared their experience in the management of the monetary policies and the exchange rates, the results of the banking restructuring and the resolution of bad debts, as well as the strong development of the financial technology (Fintech) and the impacts on the banking industry.
On sharing the results of the monetary policy and the banking operations in Vietnam, the SBV Governor said that the banking sector has achieved many outstanding achievements and made an important contribution to the macro-economy stability, inflation control, and supporting growth, removing the difficulties and actively supporting the enterprises and individuals. The implementation of the Scheme on restructuring credit institutions and resolving NPLs has achieved encouraging results and would continue to be the focus in the coming time.
About the cooperation between the two sides, on behalf of the NBC Board of Management, Deputy Governor Sum Sannisith reported on the results of the bilateral cooperation that the two central banks have conducted since 2017 when the last bilateral meeting was organized in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The two sides expressed their great pleasure to have successfully organized the visit of former members of the K-Board, who were Vietnamese banking experts assigned to assist Cambodia in the reconstruction of the banking industry in the early 1980s, to re-visit Cambodia and the NBC after nearly 40 years. This reflected the long-lasting and close-knit relationship between the two countries’ banking sectors.
Since the first bilateral meeting in February 1974, the two sides have continued to implement various cooperative activities, not only within the cooperation framework between the two central banks, but also on a larger scale of the two Governments’ relations. For the future cooperation plan, the NBC proposed to continue to exchange information and experience in a number of areas, such as exchange of information and the SBV’s policies on strengthening the inspection and supervision, the stabilization of the financial system; exchange of experience in the financial inclusion and financial education for the public; the experience on encouraging the use of the domestic currency, and the anti-dollarization policy in Vietnam.
NBC Governor Chea Chanto speaks at the meeting
Speaking at the conclusion of the talks, the two Governors believed that the substances of the talks would contribute to the implementation of the tasks of both sides, and will tighten the special friendship between the SBV and the NBC. Governor Chea Chanto re-affirmed that the bilateral cooperation is very important for the two central banks and the banking sectors of the two countries. The two Governors requested the relevant entities of the two sides to continue their traditions and closely coordinate with one another to effectively implement the contents of the cooperation.
The dialogue with Vietnamese commercial banks operating in Cambodia
At the meeting, the representatives of Vietnamese commercial banks (BIDV, Agribank, MB, Sacombank, SHB) presented their reports on the operations and the banking performances over the past time. At the same time, these representatives also presented some proposals and recommendations to the two Governors, such as the expansion of the network of Vietnamese commercial banks’ branches in Cambodia, the challenges encountered with the monetary policy, the foreign currency management in Cambodia, etc.
The two Governors listened to the commercial banks’ reports on their operations and responded to their proposals with the aim of creating favorable conditions for those banks to operate more effectively, thus contributing to supporting the cooperation and the economic development of the two countries. The NBC Governor highly appreciated the activities of Vietnamese commercial banks in Cambodia over the past time, and their significant contributions to the socio-economic development process of Cambodia. At the same time, the NBC Governor also encouraged the commercial banks to further strengthen their operations in various fields, especially credit activities. With regards to their recommendations, he acknowledged and assigned the NBC functional departments to coordinate with the relevant authorities to resolve the issues raised by the banks.
The Governors of the SBV and the BOL take photos with the delegates attending the meeting
In concluding the Meeting, the two Governors affirmed their wishes and determination of further developing the comprehensive cooperation relations between the two central banks and the banking systems of the two countries. They also expressed their beliefs that the bilateral meetings between the SBV and the NBC would continue to be a meaningful forum for both sides to improve their understanding, enhance their cooperation and support each other in their professional work, as well as to promote the exchanges in order to deepen the solidarity and the special relationship between the two central banks in particular and the two countries in general.
Le Hang